Posts Tagged With: itinerary

One of the things that makes the Mountains-to-Sea Trail unique is that it is still being developed. Each year, Friends of the MST adds several miles of trail to move the route off back roads. Because we had to delay the hike by a year, we had to look at the changes to the route and re-work part of our itinerary. Just like last year, we’ll post our itinerary in sections.

The MST was originally divided into 38 sections by Allen de Hart, the brains behind the trail. The FMST is still using these sections to describe the trail. The sections average out to around 27 miles each, although they aren’t all the same length. The route from Clingmans Dome to the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC covers sections 1-7. This route has 2 options. We’re opting for the southern route (the black line on the map) along the Tuckaseegee River because this is the route FMST would like the MST to take eventually. This plan is exactly that – a plan. It is important for us to be flexible along the way when something inevitable happens that we aren’t expecting.

So, here is the itinerary for the first 7 sections (Clingmans Dome to Folk Art Center in Asheville, 134 miles):

Friday September 18, 2015 – Day 1 (10.72 miles)

Begin hike at Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)

Camp at GSMNP Camp #54

Saturday September 19, 2015 – Day 2 (9.38 miles)

Camp at Deep Creek Campground

Sunday September 20, 2015 – Day 3 (13.9 miles)

Leave GSMNP

Camp at Tuckaseegee Outfitters in Whittier, NC

Monday September 21, 2015 – Day 4 (10.1 miles)

Pass through Dillsboro and Sylva, Resupply #1

Camp at Pinnacle Park, Sylva, NC

Tuesday September 22, 2015 – Day 5 (20.36 miles)

Enter Nantahala National Forest

Camp at National Forest campsite (1st site in Nantahala National Forest)

Wednesday September 23, 2015 – Day 6 (17.42 miles)

Enter Pisgah National Forest and Middle Prong Wilderness

Camp at National Forest campsite (3rd site in Middle Prong Wilderness)

We’re planning and posting the itinerary for our hike in stages. If you’re looking for Part 1 (Sections 1-7), look here. Just like the first part we posted, these sections will all be on foot. We’ll switch to out bikes just after this section!

Here’s the itinerary for the next 11 sections of the trail (Folk Art Center in Asheville to Stone Mountain State Park, 214 miles):

September 29, 2014 – Day 11 (16.83 miles)

Get off trail at Potato Field Gap on BRP, find someone to stay with for the night (Asheville)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with how long trails like this are laid out, the distance is divided into sections (38 on the MST). Sections can signify terrain or park changes, state lines, etc. Describing a trail by sections can make talking about the trail easier – I can ask someone a question about section 5 instead of having to try to describe that section. The 38 sections of the MST were devised by the trail planners and were described in the first book to be written about the MST. They just stuck after that.

These sections aren’t all the same distance (~27 miles). They are divided by landmarks of some sort. These can be park boundaries, ferries, crossroads, anything that seemed to Allen de Hart like a significant change.

In creating this itinerary, we’re thinking of the trail in these sections. The places we’ve chosen to change media (switching from hiking to biking, for example) are at section boundaries. We’re relying on information on the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail Website and on “The ‘Thru-Hiker’s Manual’ for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail across North Carolina” by Scot TABA Ward. Ward has hiked the MST 5 times, and his book basically lays out turn-by-turn directions for thru hiking. We’ve chosen to vary from his path in a few places, opting for alternate routes with more camping opportunities. Many of the campsites don’t have names or numbers, so they’re identified by mile marker or by outstanding feature. You’ll see a lot of businesses and private residences listed as places we’re camping. There in Ward’s book there is a directory of people and businesses who are generous enough to let thru-hikers camp on their property. A thru-hike at this stage in the trail’s development wouldn’t be possible without these Trail Angels, so THANKS!

This is our ideal itinerary. We can prepare from now until judgement day, and we’ll still have things happen along the trail we haven’t accounted for here. We will, of course, post changes as they happen along the trail!

So, here is the itinerary for the first 7 sections (Clingmans Dome to Folk Art Center in Asheville, 134 miles):

September 19, 2014 – Day 1 (8.34 miles)

Begin hike at Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)

Camp at GSMNP Camp #53

September 20, 2014 – Day 2 (8.06 miles)

Camp at GSMNP Camp #60

September 21, 2014 – Day 3 (17.6 miles)

Leave GSMNP

Camp at Tuckaseegee Outfitters, Whittier, NC

September 22, 2014 – Day 4 (10.1 miles)

Pass through Dillsboro and Sylva, Resupply #1

Camp at Pinnacle Park, Sylva, NC

September 23, 2014 – Day 5 (20.36 miles)

Enter Nantahala National Forest

Camp at National Forest campsite (1st site in Nantahala National Forest)

September 24, 2014 – Day 6 (16.48 miles)

Enter Pisgah National Forest and Middle Prong Wilderness

Camp at National Forest campsite (1st site in Middle Prong Wilderness)